After a few weeks, I think it's time to give a more proper/final review of the event. From now on, actors start to drop unfortunately so we're at the "height" of the event's quality.
Overall Thoughts: I'm quite disappointed in this year's disjointedness. Not the biggest fan of the punk rock aesthetic, but somehow it felt like they changed their mind after they ordered all the merchandise and switched it to the lackluster/poorly executed Sinister & Surreal idea.
I've been attending since 2013, and this is possibly my least favorite year. Just ok houses that I'll forget about in the long run (excl. Insidious), only 2 really solid zones, a show I've seen before and an aesthetic/theme mess across the event.
Houses
- Insidious - as mentioned by others, solid scares with all of the actors acting insane. A fan of the movies, and they did a terrific job bringing it to life.
- Goblin's Feast - great sets and terrific actors, but on the short side. There's a set of goblins in one cast here that absolutely demolish me each run.
- Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - better than the first, better scenic design with an actual firehouse this time. A surprisingly amount of good scares here.
- Monstrous - went from the bottom of my list to the top with a few actors here really testing the limit of how close they can get to you.
- Major Sweets Candy Factory - finally a house that utilizes the F&F space to its advantage. Loved the concept, hope it returns in a sprung tent or soundstage.
- Universal Monsters Bloodlines - my least favorite of the UM series, but a few actors are doing a terrific job lifting the house status'. Some great sets as well. Good use of this new tent's space.
- Slaughter Sinema 2 - it was ok, just not a huge fan of multiple themes in one house. Undead Clowns and Mardi Gras murders would be a great future house or zone.
- A Quiet Place - not a fan of the film, but I did enjoy the house more than I thought. Some scenes were great, but wasn't the biggest fan of the animatronics.
- Triplets of Terror - love the idea, but the house design places actors far away from the main path, so actors have to walk quite a ways to get to you. Felt like a Halloween house, without Myers.
- The Museum - my number one most hyped, and unfortunately led to the biggest disappoint for me this year. The walkways are wide and scenic design wasn't the most eye-catching. I'd like for them to revisit the concept a few years down the line and give it a proper attempt.
Overall House Notes: I feel like the houses this year (except Quiet Place/Insidious) were brighter compared to previous years and pathways were made wider, most noticeably in Museum. While not a single house was entirely bad, only one real standout that I'll remember.
Scare Zones
- Torture Faire - great sets and the actors are killing it.
- Swamp of the Undead - great sets and the actors are, like always, using the darkness/size of this zone to their advantage.
- Demon Queens - great actors, but just kind of "there". Not a fan of how it shrunk in size a bit this year.
- Enter the Blumhouse - photo op zone that has maybe 2-3 scare actors actually roaming the zone and scaring you.
Overall Zone Notes: Two solid HHN zones, paired with a decent zone in Hollywood and a photo op. I refuse to label Duality of Fear as a zone.
Nightmare Fuel - great show, but has become stale. Definitely fits HHN, but a 2nd show offering is desperately needed.
Merchandise - least favorite assortment of merchandise. While theme park pricing is expected to be inflated, way too many items are being marked at outrageous prices. $95+ for a GB jacket?
Food & Beverage - not the biggest fan this year. They've finally solved the issue of slow operations, but the quality this year is not that great. Pizza Fries are still great, but the lack of an house entrance back there has resulted in little to no crowds. Wouldn't be surprised to see this location close or moved elsewhere. (Or add a new menu to increase interest). Only standout was the Ropa Vieja Walking Taco. Everything else is either wayyy overpriced (Fish n' Chips for $17?!) or not repeatable (Ghostbusters Death Chill).
Note: Found out why the blinky cups were recalled ("sold out"). If what I was told is true, I'm surprised Universal hasn't made a public statement.
Other Reviews & Observations
- Wait-time accuracy this year is all over the place this year. I understand why they exaggerate an additional 10-20 minutes, but labeling Insidious as a 75 minute wait and only waiting 30 in the middle of the night is not right. I've done it multiple times now and it's not fair for those who don't know how to judge wait times. Most GP will move on and avoid a house entirely for that. It's not just Insidious, but its been this year's outlier.
- Sick and tired of the lack of preparation each year by Universal when it comes to not providing coverage for TMs from inclement weather or rain in general. Too many TMs are being held outside in the cold rain with no umbrellas/structure to hide in. Being forced to work express scanners or merge without any protection.
- Music is solid this year, even with the lack of a proper identity for this year's event.
- The tribute store this year is well designed, and actually navigable during the event. Very few people are checking out stuff this year. No checkout line going through multiple rooms.
- Parking - has gotten way better compared to the past few years.
- The use of AI in the event - shameful, whether it's the Fanta bars or app related.
- HHN Bar - I like the idea, but there's no real décor. It's time for them to actually theme the bars like SeaWorld does with actual décor versus just a graphic or two. Didn't see much of a crowd here outside the first 2-3 weeks.
- Pre-Mixed drinks, I enjoyed that they brought back handmade drinks, but they still lean on the sugary side. Pricing has also gone ridicously understandably. Basically $20 for a drink this year with tip, bought my blinky cup and that was it.
What I hope Universal takes from this year is that you can't allow corporate to force synergy and then "pass" with the bare minimum. If Universal has a quota to force Blumhouse down our throats each year, can they at least do it tastefully?